1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates fin general to a color video printer, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for synthesizing videos in a color video printer, in which videos to be edited and characters to be inserted into a video can readily be positioned, so that an editing function can be performed variously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown in a conventional color video printer in a block diagram. As shown in this drawing, the conventional color video printer comprises a video signal processing circuit 1 with a decoder 1a, an analog/digital (A/D) converter 1b, a buffer 1c, a digital/analog (D/A) converter 1d and an encoder 1e. The video signal processing circuit 1 is adapted to convert a color signal of an input composite video signal into a digital color signal or a color difference signal (commonly referred to hereinafter as the color signal), store the digital color signal in a memory 4 and again convert the digital color signal into an analog color signal. A keyboard 2 is provided to select various modes.
The conventional color video printer also comprises a control circuit 3 having a controller 3a and a memory control gate array 3b. The control circuit, 3 is adapted to output a plurality of control signal s so that the operation of the color video printer can be performed corresponding to mode select signals from the keyboard 2. The memory 4 stores the digital, color signal from the buffer 1c of the video signal processing circuit 1.
The conventional color video printer also comprises a printing circuit 5 with a tone control gate array 5a, a line memory 5b and a printing head 5c. The printing circuit 5 is adapted to print the digital color signal stored in the memory 4.
A monitor 6 is connected to an output of the video signal processing circuit 1 to display the composite video signal from the video signal processing circuit 1 on a screen thereof.
The video signal processing circuit 1, the control circuit 3, the memory 4 and the printing circuit 5 are mounted in the color video printer.
The operation of the conventional color video printer with the above-mentioned construction will hereinafter be described.
First, in the video signal processing circuit 1, the color signal is separated from the input composite video signal by the decoder 1a and then converted into the digital color signal by the analog/digital converter 1b. The color signal from the analog/digital converter 1b is buffered by the buffer 1c and then converted into the analog color signal by the digital/analog converter 1d. The analog color signal from the digital/analog converter 1d is encoded the composite video signal by the encoder 1e, which applies the composite video signal to the monitor 6. As a result, the composite video signal from the encoder 1e is displayed on the screen of the monitor 6.
At this time, if the user first selects a STORE mode through the keyboard 2 to print a desired picture, the controller 3a in the control circuit 3 outputs the control signal so that the operation of the color video printer can be performed in the STORE mode. The control signal from the controller 3a is applied to the buffer 1c in the video signal processing circuit 1 through the memory control gate array 3b in the control circuit. 3. As a result, in response to the applied control signal, the digital color signal from the buffer 1c is stored into the memory 4.
If the user then selects a PRINT mode through the keyboard 2 to print the desired picture, the controller 3a in the control circuit 3 outputs the control signal so that the operation of the color video printer can be performed in the PRINT mode. In response to the control signal from the controller 3a, the digital color signal stored in the memory 4 is applied through the tone control gate array 5a to the line memory 5b. The applied digital color signal is temporarily stored in the line memory 5b in the unit of line. Then, the digital color signal stored in the line memory 5b is printed through the printing head 5c.
However, the conventional color video printer has a disadvantage, in that it simply prints only a desired one of the input composite video signals. In other words, in the case where desired videos are to be edited or characters are to be inserted into the videos before printing, the desired videos must be super-imposed in a separate video machine such as a camcorder or a video cassette recorder (VCR) having a super-impose function and the resultant, edited video then be applied to the color video printer. The edited video is stored and printed in the color video printer. These result in a complexity and an inconvenience. Also, when the user selects a video stored in the memory, the video reproduced from the camcorder or the VCR cannot be displayed on the screen of the monitor. In this case, the user has to manually operate the camcorder or the VCR to view the reproduced video, with an inconvenience.